Taking a medicine incorrectly could mean you end up with too little or too much of it in your body, so you may not get the full benefit, or could be at greater risk of side effects.
Take the time to take charge of your medicines during this Be Medicinewise Week and improve your health outcomes by following these useful tips:
1. Don’t stop medicines without advice
Stopping your medicines without speaking to a health professional can have serious effects on your health. Sometimes you may feel better, or your visible symptoms may have disappeared, but it’s always a good idea to speak to a medical professional if you are thinking of stopping a medicine. Their advice is very important, as your medicine may need to be stopped carefully to prevent discontinuation side effects.
2. Continue to take your medicines
If you have to manage an ongoing health condition, it may require a number of different medicines to treat your symptoms. This may also mean that the different medicines will have to be taken at different times during the day.
Some medicines need to be taken regularly and/or long-term to be effective and to prevent changes in your health condition. If you and your doctor agree that taking regular prescription medicines is important to your health, be sure to fill scripts regularly so they are available when you need them; take the prescribed dose according to directions and try to avoid missing doses or stopping your medicine.
3. Equip yourself with the right tools
If you are having trouble remembering to take your medicines, or think you might in the future, speak with your health professional. There are many tools and resources, such as packaging systems and apps (like the MedicineList+ app), which might be useful.
Make a medicines list: this will help you keep all the information about your medicines together. Keeping a medicines list will help you to:
- know more about your medicines
- remind you how and when to take your medicines
- help your health professionals check and review your medicines.
Be Medicinewise Week is on from 22 to 28 August and promotes the safer and wiser use of medicines. Australians are being encouraged to ask the right questions, ask the right people and follow the right advice about their medicines.
To learn more visit nps.org.au/be-medicinewise-week.
